Accessibility in interaction design

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	Time: 15 hours Level: Advanced

	Introduction Introduction Resource In this unit we will discuss what we mean by ‘disability’. We will analyse some common impairment and disability groups, considering people with visual impairments, hearing impairments, physical impairments,...

	1 Accessibility: an introduction 1.1 What is accessibility? Resource In this unit we will focus on the accessibility of interactive products.

	2 What does it mean to be disabled? 2.1 Definitions of disability Resource What do we mean by the term ‘disability’? Disability groups and other organisations may have their own definitions of disability. Two definitions are presented here: one developed for the Disability Discrimination... 2.2 Models of disability Resource There are two central models of disability: the social model and the medical model. Michael Oliver, a researcher, writer and campaigner, provides the following definitions. 2.3 Disability-related terminology Resource The language that we use to talk about disability is quite problematic, as the following quote shows. 2.4 What does it mean to experience disability? Resource In this section, I hope to give you a little insight into what it is like to have disabilities.

	3 Visual impairments 3.1 Introduction Resource In this section we discuss blindness, partial sightedness and colour-blindness, consider how these impairments might affect a person's use of interactive products, discuss how people with these disabilities... 3.2 Blindness, partial sightedness and colour-blindness Resource There are approximately two million people in the UK who have a sight problem. The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) defines someone as having a sight problem if they are unable to recognise... 3.3 Assistive technologies for the blind and partially sighted Resource Most of this section is concerned with discussing assistive technologies to help firstly blind and then partially sighted people to perceive the output of a computer – obviously, blind people can't see... 3.4 Requirements of people with visual impairments Resource Here we will focus on the requirements of blind and partially sighted people, differentiating between computers and other interactive products. This differentiation is necessary because with a computer,...

	4 Hearing impairments 4.1 Profoundly deaf versus hard of hearing Resource The Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) estimate that there are approximately 9 million deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK. Approximately half a million of these are severely or profoundly... 4.2 Assistive technologies for deaf or hard of hearing people using computers Resource In general, people who have become deaf later in life, so that they can read and write normal text, or are hard of hearing, do not require any specific assistive technology in order to use a computer effectively.... 4.3 Requirements of deaf and hard of hearing people Resource The requirements for deaf and hard of hearing people are the same for computers as for other interactive devices.

	5 Physical impairments 5.1 Physical impairments Resource People may have a range of physical impairments which are caused by a wide range of conditions. In the box below I show how the use of computers might itself cause physical impairments. 5.2 Effects of physical impairment Resource People with physical impairments may have: 5.3 Assistive technologies for physically impaired people Resource As described above, people may have a wide range of physical impairments which differ in terms of the extent to which they impair computer use. The assistive technology used depends on the person's specific... 5.4 Requirements of physically impaired people for interactive products Resource Physically impaired people will use general interactive devices in different ways, depending on their needs. For example, wheelchair users can use devices that are usable and reachable from a seated position....

	6 Cognitive impairments, including dyslexia I6.1 ntroduction Resource I will begin by discussing cognitive impairments in general and then go on to discuss dyslexia. I have focused on dyslexia because it is surprisingly widespread: as we will see in Section 6.3, it is estimated... 6.1 General cognitive impairments and how they may be addressed Resource The meaning of cognition according to Preece et al. (2002) is: 6.3 Dyslexia (a specific learning difficulty) Resource In Section 2.4, I tried to give you a flavour of what it's like to have dyslexia. However, there are many different forms of dyslexia and it would be dangerous to think that this disability is easily characterised.... 6.4 Use of computers by dyslexic people Resource In general, people with dyslexia may have difficulty reading, and may also have difficulty in composing and physically writing or typing their own work. This group can be supported in their use of computers... 6.5 Requirements of dyslexic people Resource The requirements of dyslexic people for computers and other interactive devices are mostly the same, with perhaps one exception. In general dyslexic people may require the following, depending on their...

	7 Accessibility: a brief summary 7.1 What have you learnt? Resource I must reiterate that in the sections above I have only scratched the surface of the issues involved in widening access to interactive products: indeed, given the wide variety of disabilities that people... 7.2 Self-Assessment Questions Resource The following review questions and activities are intended to tie this material together.

	References and Acknowledgements References Resource Acknowledgements Resource